Sitting furniture

ABSTRACT

A piece of sitting furniture has two separate, bent lateral frame bars and a body supporting support means fastened to and stretched between them by means of cross bars extending between the lateral frame bars and optionally one or more intermediate frame means, and each lateral frame bar is so bent as to form a loop of closed configuration in side view, said loop having a seat section which extends at least along the rear part of the seat portion, a rear back rest section which extends along the back rest portion, and a front back rest section extending forwardly of and approximately in parallel with the rear back rest section, said front back rest section merging at the top by means of a bend in the rear back rest section and joining at the bottom the front end of the seat section of the loop by means of further loop sections.

' United States Patent [1 1 Persson {11] 3,820,845 14 June 28, 1974 [22] Filed:

' 1. SITTING FURNITURE [30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 5, 1971 Sweden 12557/71 Dec. 14, 1971 Sweden 15974/71 Apr. 26, 1972 Sweden.- 5459/72 June 5,1972 Sweden 7343/72 [52] 11.5. C1 297/445, 297/272, 297/287, 297/294, 297/421 [51] Int. Cl A47C 5/04, A47C 11/00 58] Field of Search 297/194, 258, 270, 272, 297/420-422, 440, 445450, 287, 294, 305

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,950,226 3/1934 Cable 297/294 X 2,089,818 8/1937 Terker 297/420 2,618,316 11/1952 Way 297/421 2,658,555 11/1953 Barker 297/421 2,722,967 1 1/1955 Reinholz 297/447 3,267,887 8/1966 Boyd .L 297/194 3,601,446 8/1971 PersSOn 297/445 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 638,984 11/1936 Germany 297/445 I 610,728 10/1960 Italy 297/445 Primary ExaminerCasmir A. Nunberg 57 ABSTRACT A piece of sitting furniture has two separate, bent lateral frame bars and a body supporting support means fastened to and stretched between them by means of cross bars extending between the lateral frame bars and optionally one or more intermediate frame means, and each lateral frame bar is so bent as to form a loop of closed configuration in side view, said loop having a seat section which extends at least along the rear part of the seat portion, a rear back rest section which extends along the back rest portion, and a front back rest section extending forwardly of and approximately in parallel with the rear back rest section, said front back rest-section merging at the top by means of a bend in the rear back rest section and joining at the bottom the front end of the seat section of the loop by means of further loop sections.

2 Claims,'l6 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUNBB m4 $820,845

- SHEET '1 BF 8 4 FIG.

SITTING FURNITURE This invention relates to apiece of sitting furniture of the type having two separate, bent lateral frame bars to which is fastened a body supporting support means which, to form at least one seat portion and one back rest portion of the piece of furniture, is kept stretched by means of cross bars between the lateral frame bars and optionally one or more intermediate frame means arranged between said lateral frame bars, said cross bars engaging the lateral frame bars and said optional intermediate frame means.

According to the invention, each lateral frame bar of the piece of sitting furniture is bent so as to form a loop of closed configuration in side view, said loop having a seat section which extends at least along the rear part of the seat portion, a rear back rest section which extends along the back rest portion, and a front back rest section extending forwardly of and approximately in parallel with the rear back rest section, said front back rest section merging at the top by means of a bend in the rear back rest section and joining at the bottom the front end of the seat section of 'the loop by means of further loop sections.

The above defined design of the piece of sitting fumiture according to the invention involves int.al. the following advantages over previously known sitting furniture of the above type: A more rigid and more stable piece of furniture is obtained with one and the same cross sectional dimension of the lateral frame bars; a better protection is realized against wear and dirtying of fabric and upholstery edges; the piece of sitting furniture can be given a pleasing appearance; the lateral frame bars run but little risk of being deformed in transport; and the manufacture of the sitting furniture can be automatized.

Several embodiments of the invention will be more fully described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIGS. 1-3 show various embodiments of a chair, as seen in side view;

FIG. 4 is part of a cross section on line IVIV in FIG. 1;

FIG. corresponds to FIG. 4 but illustrates another embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another chair accordingto the invention in which loose back rest and seat cushions have been omitted;

FIG. 7 is a section on line VII-VII in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of still another embodiment; 7

FIGS. 9-11 are diagrammatic side views of further embodiments;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a still further embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a sofa having lateral frame bars according to FIG. 12 and interposed intermediate frames;

FIG. 14 is a side view of an intermediate frame utilized in the sofa shown in FIG. 13;

FIG. shows the chair in FIG. 12 supplemented with a detachable tray;

FIG. 16 is a section showing how the trayin FIG. 15 has been detachably fastened to the lateral frame bar of the chair beneath one arm rest thereof.

The chair illustrated in FIG. 1 on each side has an individually manufactured lateral frame bar 1 which is bent into the configuration of a closed loop in the manner shown in FIG. 1. Said loop has a seat section 2 extending along the seat portion of the chair and merging at the rear in one limb of a rear leg forming loop section 3 bent into U-shape, while the other limb of said loop section 3 merges in a rear back rest section 4 of the loop. The rear back rest section 4 at the top merges by means of a U-shaped bend in a front back rest section 5 extending forwardly of and approximately in parallel with the rear back rest section 4. At the bottom the section 5 merges in an arm rest forming loop section 6 which at the front is bent down toward the seat section 2 and then forward to merge in one limb of a front leg forming loop section'7 bent into U-shape, while the other limb of said loop section 7 merges in the seat sec tion 2 of the loop. The ends of the'lateral frame bar bent into said loop can belocated at any desired point of the loop, but in FIG. 1 they are shown as located at 8 within the region of the arm rest section 6 of the loop. I

The bar ends can be detachably or fixedly joined together in any desired manner.

The two. lateral frame bars 1 bent into a closed loop as shown in FIG. 1 are interconnected at suitable points along their length by means of cross bars (not shown in FIG. 1) which extend between the lateral frame bars and engage them to keep a body supporting support means, for instance a carrying cloth having an upholstery placed thereon, stretched between the lateral. frame bars. Such a body supporting support means 9 is shown in FIG. 1 and forms the seat portion of the chair, extending downward in the'U-shaped front and rear legs 7 and 3, respectively. Further, there is a body supporting support means 10 which forms the back rest portion of the chair and'extends along the rear back rest section 4 of the lateral frame bars and downward to the support means 9 at the rear legs 3. Finally, there is an arm rest covering 11 which is passed over the arm rest section 6 of the respective lateral frame bar land conceals the ends of the lateral frame bar at 8.-

As shown in FIG. 4,'each lateral frame bar 1 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 comprises a metal bar having two channels 12 and 13. The channel 12 opens in one side surface of the bar 1 through a slot extending along the bar and having a width smaller than the remaining channel 12. The body supporting support means 10 consists of a carrying cloth l5 and an upholstery 16 with a covering fabric placed on one side of said cloth 15. Each margin of the carrying cloth 15 is folded to a hem and a cord, wire or like means 17 is inserted in the hem for the formation of a bead. Said bead is passed into the channel 12 of the bar 1 and is of such a width as not to permit withdrawal through the slot 14. Several cross bars disposed at suitable points extend between the two lateral frame bars 1. An end portion of such a cross bar is. shown in FIG. 4. Each cross bar has a tube 18. Inserted in each end of the tube 18 is the threaded end of a pin 19 the other end of which is passed through a hole in the adjoining lateral frame bar 1 into the bar channellS so as to engage the partition between the channels 12 and 13. A nut 20 is screwed onto the threaded portion of the pin 19. By rotation of the nut 20 after mounting of the body supporting support means 10 the lateral frame bars 1 can be moved apart to stretch the carrying cloth 15 between the lateral frame bars which are kept together solely by the tension in the carrying cloth l5. Italso appears from FIG. 4 that the front and rear back rest sections 4, 5 of manner shown in FIG. 4, use can be made of lateralframe bars in the form of ordinary metal tubes 21 according to FIG. 5, in which case the body supporting support means may consist of a tubular carrying cloth 22 and an upholstery 16 with covering fabric, mounted on said carrying cloth 22. The tubular carrying cloth 22 is passed onto the two lateral frame bars 21. The two lateral frame bars 21 may be connected by means of cross barsof adjustable length as shown in FIG. 4, but use can also be made of cross bars of invariable length.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 agrees with seat section 2 of the loop, while the end portion 34 projects upward from the floor along the end portion 35 in order to extend upward some distance from the front end of the seat portion and to merge in the arm rest section 6 *of the loop. The joined end portions 34, 35 of each lateral frame bar 1 turn their side surfaces having the slot 14 toward one another, and the body supporting support means 9 is inserted between the joined end portions 34 and 35. To keep the end portions 34' and 35 of each lateral frame bar 1 together use should suitably be made of a fastening element which engages in the channels of the end portions. An example of a suitable fastening element isshown in FIG. 7. The fastening element therein shown is in the'form of a wedge 36 which in cross section is of I-shape or hourglass shape, and the narrow intermediate portion or web of the wedge fits the slots 14 in end portions 34 and 35. The'wedge is driven into the channels of the that shown in FIG. 1 except for the front portion of the chair. Here, the arm rest section 6 of the loop at the front merges in a downwardly bent loopusection 23 which extends down to'and meets the seat section 2 of the loop in order to close the loop, as viewed from the side, at a point 24 rearwardly of the front end of the seat portion of the chain-From said point 24 the lateral frame bar 1 extends past the seat section 2 downwardly as the rear limb of a U-shaped front leg 25 thefront limb of which extends upward and then rearward in order to merge at the point 24 in the seat section 2 of the loop. A further difference over FIG. 1 is that the arm rest section 6 in FIG. 2 is provided with a tubular covering 26. p I

In FIG. 3 thelateral frame bars 1 are bent into a loop having a seat section 27 which at the rear merges directly in a rear back rest section 28 which in the manner earlier described merges in a front back rest section 29 which in turn merges in an arm rest section 30 which at the front by means of a loop section 31 merges directly in the seat section 27. In FIG. 3 the lateral frame bars 1 are supported by a special sub-frame in the form of an'upright 32 with a base. Some other suitable subframe having for instance front and rear legs could also be utilized.

The chair illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 corresponds to that illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4, with some exceptions which are discussed in the following. Each lateral frame bar 1 has but one longitudinal channel 12 which opens in a side surface of the bar through a constricted slot 14. The body supporting support means 9 and 10 anchored in the channel by means of a marginal bead consist of a carrying cloth piece which is devoid of an upholstery with covering fabric secured thereto. Loose seat and back rest cushions (not shown) are meant to be placed on the carrying cloth pieces 9 and 10. A thin arm rest upholstery 33 is fixed to the arm rest section 6 of each lateral frame bar.

The most important difference over the chair shown in FIG. 1 resides in that the ends of each lateral frame bar 1 do not meet within the range of the arm rest upholstery 33. Instead, each of the loop forming lateral frame bars 1 has end portions 34 and 35' which are joined and adapted collectively to constitute a front leg of the chair. Thus, the end portion 35 projects upward from the floor and merges in the rearwardly-directed end portions 34 from the lower end of the front leg..

In the chair illustrated in FIG. 8 the lateral frarne bars 1 are bent into the configuration of a loop of the same type as in FIG. 3 with loop sections 27-31. However, in FIG. 8 each lateral frame bar 1 has two end portions which, from a point 37 between the front and rear ends of the seat portion, at which point they meet each other in the loop, extend first downward beside one'another' with parts 38 of theirend portions and then in opposite directions forwardly and rearwardlyso as to constitute a front leg 39 and a rear leg 40, respectively. The adjacent parts 38 of the end portions are preferably joine together, for instance by means of bolts.4l.

In the embodiment shown inFIG. 8 the bars 1- are formed with channels in the manner described with reference to FIG/4 and'interconnected in a stable manner on the one-hand by means of cross bars and-on the other hand by means of a body: supporting support means in the. form of a carrying cloth extended between the bars 1. The only difierence over FIG. 4 is that the upholstery is not fixedly connected to the carrying cloth but in the present instance is in the form of a loose back rest cushion 42 and a loose seat cushion 43. A carrying cloth piece 44 extends from the frontend of the seat portion rearwardly along the front part of the seat portion and downwardly along the front'part 38 of the bar end portion, and another'carrying cloth. piece extends upwardly along the rear part 38 of the bar end portion and then rearwardly along the rear part of the seat portion and then upwardly along the back rest portion. The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 9 corresponds to that shown in FIG. 8 except that the parts 39a and 40a of each lateral frame bar 1 do not constitute actual front and rear legs but are fastened to the rocker 45 of a rocking chair.

The embodiment illustrated in FIG. 10 corresponds to that shown in FIG. '8 with the following exceptions. Each lateral frame bar 1 terminates in the end parts 38b which are spaced somewhat apart and fastened to a special furniture sub-frame. This sub-frame which may be common to several juxtaposed chair frames of the type illustrated has a horizontal hollow supporting beam 46 of rectangular cross section which at least adjacent its ends is carried on a base by means of front and rear leg pairs. Such a leg pair is shown in FIG. 10 in the form of a front leg bar 47 and a rear leg bar 48 which are bent approximately into L-shape and one limb of which is passed through a hole in the beam 46 and secured thereto in some suitable manner (not shown). The end parts 38b of each lateral frame bar 1' extend downward along the front side and rear side, re spectively, of the beam 46 and are clamped to the beam by a clamping member, for instance a clamping bolt 49 penetrating the parts 38b.

The embodiment according to FIG. .11 differsfrom that shown in FIG. 8 in that the front back rest section 69 of each lateral frame bar 1 extends downward close to the seat section 27 of the loop and there merges in a forwardly directed loop section 50 which extends approximately in parallel with the seat section 27 and at the front merges therein. The loop sections 27 and 50 are so close together that theycan grasp between thema marginal portion of an upholstery (not shown in FIG. 11) disposed on'the seat portion. The loop of each lateral frame bar can thus be described as having the configuration of a U extending along the back rest portion and a U extending along the'seat portion, said two Us each having substantially parallel limbs and merging in one another with their limbs at a transition between the seat portion and the back rest portion.

The chair illustrated in FIG. 12 on each side has a latrest section 54 which at the front extends downward to the seat section 51 so as to close the loop. One 'end portion of the lateral frame bar 1 extends from the point 55 where the arm rest section 54 meets the seat section 51, downward from the arm rest section 54 past the seat section 51 so as to form a front leg 56 of the chair..

The other end portion of the lateral frame bar forms a continuation of the seat section 53 of the loop and eX-. tends past the point 55 where the arm rest section 54 meets the seat section 51 and is bent rearwardly into U-shape so as to form a bar portion 57 situated beneath the seat section 51, and then downward to form a rear leg 58 of the chair.

At either orboth of the points where the front leg 56 of each lateral frame bar 1 crosses the seat section 51 and the bar portion 57 the front leg may be secured to the section 51 and the portion 57, respectively, in a suitable manner for instance by means of a screw. At a suitable point behind the front leg 56 the seat section 51, as shown, maybe connected to the bar portion 57 by means of a connecting member 59. This connecting member is illustrated in FIG. 12 as a rigid pin but use can also be made of a resilient means, for instance an elastic rubber or plastics body.

The lateral frame bars 1 are of the construction described with reference to FIG. 4 and they are also interconnected by means of cross bars, as described'with reference to FIG. 4. A carrying cloth 60 is inserted with its marginal beads in the channels of the lateral frame bars 1 in the manner described with reference to FIG. 4 and extends from the upper end of the rear back rest section 52 downward along said section and forward along the seat section 51 and about the front end of the seat down to and some distance along the bar portion 57, as will appear from FIG. 12. As distinct from what has been described with reference to FIG. 4 where the carrying cloth is shown fixedly connected to an uphol- 6 stery with a covering fabric, loose cushions 61 are placed in FIG. 12 on the carrying cloth within the seat and back rest portions.

The embodiments of the invention as hitherto described have related to chairs having two lateral frame bars 1 and a carrying cloth extended between them by means of cross bars. However, the lateral frame bars described can also be used for a sofa in which case intermediate frame means are disposed between the lateral frame bars. An example of this is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. Use is here made of two lateral-frame bars 1 substantially of the type described with reference to FIG. 12. The sofa illustrated in FIG. 13 is a three-seat sofa and therefore two intermediate frame means of the configuration illustrated in FIG. 14 are interposed between the lateral frame bars 1. Each intermediate frame means consists of' a bar 62 which is bent soas to form the back rest portion, seat portion and rear-legs corresponding to the bar sections 51, 52, 57, 58 of the lateral frame bars 1 illustrated in FIG. 12, and of a front leg bar 63 secured to the bar 62. The bars 62 .have two channels formed with slots (corresponding to the channels 12, 14 in FIG. 4) so that one carrying cloth 64 is extended between each lateral frame bar 1 and the respective adjoining intermediate frame bar 62, and a third carrying cloth 64 is extended between the two intermediate frame bars 62. The three carrying cloths 64 are kept stretched between the bars 1 and 62 by means of cross bars (not shown in FIG. 13) for instance of the type described with reference to FIG. 4, which are mounted at suitable points between said bars 1 and 62. If a curved sofa is desired such as that shown in FIG. 13, the carrying cloth pieces 64 can be given a width increasing from the front end of the seat rearwardly and upwardly along the back rest. It is suitable to place on the carrying cloth pieces 64 of the sofa according to FIG. 13 cushions of the type shown in FIG.- 12 at 61.

FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate how the chair shown in 7 FIG. 12 may be supplemented with a fixed or detachable detail which in the example shown is a'tray but which may also be an ash-tray or some other similar detail. The tray 70 can have one or more fittings 71 in the form of a bent strip of sheet metal having a hookforming part 72 which has. been caused to'take such an oblique position that when the tray is inclined upwardly to the right as viewed in FIG. 16 it can be inserted in the open channel 12 of the lateral frame bar 1 in order to engage, upon downward swinging into substantially horizontal position, one edge of the channel 13 at the same time as the opposite end of the hook-forming portion 72 rests against the underside of the closed channel 13 in the lateral frame bar 1. The hook 72 is of such a configuration that it cannot be withdrawn from the channel 12 except when the tray 70 is swung obliquely upwardly to the right as viewed in FIG. 16.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a piece of sitting furniture, having support means forming a seat portion and a back rest portion, upholstery means on said seat and back rest portion of said support means, two separate, bent lateral frame bars, each comprising a seat section extending along and engaging said seat portion of said support means, a rear back rest section extending along and engaging said back rest portion of said support means, and a front back rest section extending forwardly of and apcomprising an extension of the lower end of said front back rest section which extends forwardly above and approximately in parallel relation with said seat section and that the opposed lateral marginal portions of said upholstery means on said seat portion of said support means extend into the space between said extension and said seat section of each of said lateral frame bars and are gripped therebetween to retain said upholstery means in correct position. 

1. In a piece of sitting furniture, having support means forming a seat portion and a back rest portion, upholstery means on said seat and back rest portion of said support means, two separate, bent lateral frame bars, each comprising a seat section extending along and engaging said seat portion of said support means, a rear back rest section extending along and engaging said back rest portion of said support means, and a front back rest section extending forwardly of and approximately in parallel relation with and spaced from said rear back rest section and merging at the top by means of a bend in said rear back rest section, the improvement in which the opposed lateral marginal portions of said upholstery means on said back rest portion of said support means extend into the space between said front and rear back rest sections of each of said lateral frame bars and are gripped therebetween to retain the upholstery means in correct position.
 2. The improvement according to claim 1 further comprising an extension of the lower end of said front back rest section which extends forwardly above and approximately in parallel relation with said seat section and that the opposed lateral marginal portions of said upholstery means on said seat portion of said support means extend into the space between said extension and said seat section of each of said lateral frame bars and are gripped therebetween to retain said upholstery means in correct position. 